


Cage

by IAmANonnieMouse



Series: AELDWS 2020 Write-Along [5]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25866592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmANonnieMouse/pseuds/IAmANonnieMouse
Summary: Once, there was a man who felt trapped in his own skin.
Series: AELDWS 2020 Write-Along [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1832308
Comments: 14
Kudos: 17





	Cage

**Author's Note:**

> Some of you might have noticed that I didn't post a write-along for Week 5. That's because my FABULOUS mouse spouse, [Flosculatory,](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flosculatory/pseuds/flosculatory) wrote a curtal sonnet for me! [Go check it out](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25759594) :D
> 
> Week 6  
> Prompt: Locked in  
> Genre: Once upon a time  
> Word Count: Under 200 words

Once, there was a man who felt trapped in his own skin. Every night, he would sit by his well and whisper his wishes to the stars.

Then, one night, he _changed._ His fingers lengthened, his hair darkened, his body slimmed. 

And he laughed with joy, because the stars had heard him and finally granted his wish.

But this new skin never stayed. The first lasted a fortnight. The second, a week. Soon, he woke with one face and slept in another.

Desperate, he went to his friend in the woods who mixed potions from herbs.

“Wishes are dangerous,” his friend said. “I lived in another town, before, and wished for more.” He sighed. “You cannot give the magic back. Once you wish for something, it cannot be changed.”

So he stayed with his friend in the woods, picking herbs and grinding leaves. His hand shrank where it was wrapped around the pestle, his legs grew as he crouched in the bushes, and the stars watched from overhead, unmoved. 

Once, there was a man who felt trapped in his own skin. But the stars built him a new cage, instead of setting him free.


End file.
